Planes of Korean Air Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. are seen on the tarmac at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, in this undated file photo (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — The antitrust regulator of the European Union announced Wednesday it plans to make a provisional decision on whether to approve a merger deal between Korean Air Co. and Asiana Airlines by mid-February.
The European Commission (EC), the executive body of the EU, set its provisional deadline for the review by Feb. 14, according to its official website.
Since South Korea’s two full-fledged carriers announced their merger plan in 2020, the EC has been looking into the case but raised concerns that the 1.8 trillion-won (US$1.4 billion) deal may restrict competition in the markets for passenger and cargo air transport services between the EU and South Korea.
In a bid to win the EC’s approval, the companies decided last month to sell Asiana’s cargo business and divest passenger flight routes to four European cities, and reported the measure to the commission.
So far, 11 countries have approved the merger deal, including Britain, Australia and Singapore, but the South Korean airlines have yet to receive approval from three key markets: the EU, the United States and Japan.
For the merger to be finalized, the airlines must win approval from competition regulators in key markets.
Korean Air said it will faithfully cooperate with the EC’s review process to get its approval as soon as possible.
(Yonhap)
